Digital Domain lays off almost all of Port St. Lucie staff, closes facility

Only 20 employees retained; CEO John Textor also resigns

UPDATED 5:30 PM EDT Sep 07, 2012

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -

Digital Domain Media Group laid off almost all of its Port St. Lucie staff Friday as part of what it calls "a strategic realignment" to ensure the long-term future of the digital effects company.

The company said only 20 employees from its Port St. Lucie facility will be retained. In all, about 300 jobs were lost.

Employees told WPBF 25 News they were called to a meeting after arriving to work Friday morning and notified that the company was closing its Port St. Lucie office.

People in the employee parking lot could be seen carrying boxes from the building to their vehicles.

Digital Domain has spent the past few years building a new animation studio in Port St. Lucie, using millions in incentives from the city and the state. A Securities & Exchange Commission filing earlier this week showed Digital Domain went into default on $35 million in loans, triggering interest rates that brought the debt to $51 million.

The Port St. Lucie facility opened a little more than a year ago. The city approved $40 million in bonds to help the company build its animation studio.

"I mean, earlier in the week we all thought everything, you know, would just work itself out and as long as we kept continuing to do good work, you know, things would work out for the artists," Fry said. "It didn't happen that way this time."

Fry is one of several laid-off employees who moved to the area and is now left trying to find a way to pay his mortgage.

"I bought a home two months ago, unfortunately, so I'm kind of stuck," Fry said. "I've got to look at options."

In addition, Chief Executive Officer and West Palm Beach native John Textor resigned effective immediately, explaining in a letter that he disagreed with the company's decision to close the Port St. Lucie facility.

Digital Domain's studios in California and Vancouver will remain open, as will the Digital Domain Institute that has partnered with Florida State University's film school in West Palm Beach.

Copyright 2012 by WPBF.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.